Pedro Martinez rejoins New York Mets, will start Friday

Steve Mitchell/US PresswireMets pitcher Pedro Martinez throws back a loose beach ball during the the fourth inning against the Florida Marlins at Dolphin Stadium Tuesday. Martinez returned to the team from bereavement leave Tuesday and is scheduled start Friday's game in Houston.

MIAMI -- For the past week, baseball has been the last thing on Pedro Martinez's mind.

When an extended battle with brain cancer finally claimed the life of Martinez's father, Paulino, last Wednesday, the Mets starting pitcher returned home to the Dominican Republic to guide his family through the grieving process. He rejoined the team in South Florida before Tuesday night's game, and began shifting his priorities back toward work.

So he went out to the visiting team's bullpen here at Dolphin Stadium and threw for around 15 minutes. When he finished, he discussed how difficult this ordeal has been -- and still is.

"Yeah, all the distractions are a little uncomfortable to deal with, but now I know he's at peace," Martinez said. "He's not under any pain or anything like that. I really had my mind with him at the time."

Martinez will start against the Astros on Friday, his first action in three weeks. Because of the inactivity -- Martinez has not picked up a baseball in seven days -- the Mets will limit him to around 80 pitches. The hope is that the Mets can begin to gain some understanding as to how Martinez will slot into the rotation. In nine starts this year, Martinez is just 3-2 with a 6.25 ERA.

The idea that Martinez can become a dominant part of the rotation could be a reach. At 36, the Mets are hoping for a serviceable pitcher with occasional flashes of brilliance. But Martinez has lacked a consistent amount of innings this season, so it seems every month he is starting anew. The off-and-on lulls are why the Mets will not subject Martinez's arm to heavy activity on Friday. Martinez sounded as if he would like more work to prepare, but there just is not enough time.

"I'm hoping. That's all I can do," Martinez said. "And I'm going to work as hard as I can between the time now and the start, but at the same time, all I can do is try out there and make improvements during the game and during the practice sessions. I'm not going to predict anything, but I'm hoping my experience will help me deal with the rest of the stuff now that I feel healthy."

Late Monday night, pitching coach Dan Warthen hinted Martinez might pitch an inning out of the bullpen, instead of throwing a traditional bullpen session. But interim manager Jerry Manuel scrapped the idea. The team had kicked around a plan where Martinez could throw an inning or two in a blowout, but Manuel leaned with the decision to leave Martinez out of game action Tuesday night.

"We decided that if he's down there and a scenario plays out and we could fit him in, we would," Manuel said. "But for the most part, we're not looking to."

When Martinez last pitched on July 12, he left with an injury to his shoulder. The root of the pain was a strained groin area, which shortened Martinez's delivery and transferred stress to his throwing shoulder. Martinez took a cortisone shot after the All-Star break and threw a bullpen session a couple of days later in Cincinnati, and the team penned him to start July 29 against the Cardinals. But then word came in that Martinez's father had succumbed to cancer. Everything else became secondary at that point.

Because cancer is such a debilitating and painful disease, Martinez had offered to stay with his father in his final days. But Paulino told him that one of his greatest joys was to watch his son pitch.

"It gives me a little more comfort to just know that he wanted me to go back to play baseball," Martinez said. "Those are the questions that I asked him and he did want me to play baseball, to go back and resume work. That's why I came back, and then a day and half later they call me for his death. At the same time, I'm going to miss my dad and being with him."